Forever a Child
by suicune4ever
Summary: His sister would never be the same. The Fire Lord knew that much at least. But then again, maybe she hadn't changed at all.


**_This is my new story "Forever a Child". I'm not quite sure whether this is an angsty kind of story, but I think it is. A little bit anyway._**

**_Disclaimer: I own Avatar: the Last Airbender... in my dreams, that is._**

**_Anyway, Enjoy :)_**

* * *

_"Zuzu! Come look at this!" a young two-year-old cried, small hands beckoning her brother over to her. Eagerly, the young five-year-old hurried over in response to the girl's calls. Upon arriving, he saw the girl with a few pieces of blank sheets of paper laid out in front of her, crayons the colours of the rainbow surrounding it. Picking up a crayon at random, she handed it to her brother. _

_"What is it, Zula?" Zuko asked while taking the offered object. Azula smiled widely and pointed to the scroll._

_She replied, "Mother gave me lots and lots of paper to draw on. I wanted to draw with you, Zuzu!" Her brother smiled at that statement and helped his little sister draw, occasionally helping his sister when she wanted to draw something particularly difficult. Azula finally added a few finishing touches of her own, before standing up. She beamed and let out a giggle. "The turtle ducks look funny Zuzu."_

_Zuko pouted, "They aren't weird, Zula." However this only caused his sibling to laugh some more. Once Azula calmed down she asked a question._

_"Do you know why I wanted to draw with you?" Zuko thought about it and shook his head. Azula came closer and whispered in his ear. _

_"Because you're the best big brother ever!"_

* * *

The Fire Lord walked through the walls before reaching a familiar door. He opened the door and was greeted by the sight of a young woman reading a scroll out loud. Hearing the door open, she placed her scroll down before eagerly rushing over to hug him.

"Zuzu! Look at this new scroll I got. It has dragons, and a yucky monster and even a princess, just like me!" she exclaimed. The man chuckled.

"That's right, just like you. And can you guess what I have here?" Azula shook her head and her face lit up when she saw the gift.

Pleased with the surprise she asked, "Crayons! Can I draw with it?" She didn't wait for an answer before taking it and laying it out on the floor. She started to draw and colour the paper in, filled with childlike wonder. The old Azula would never do something like this.

'But then again,' Zuko bitterly thought, 'the old Azula, _my_ Azula, is gone. Forever.'

Before long, the material was covered in an array of colours and shapes. Azula showed it to her brother. "Look, here's me, and then there's you saving me and the turtle ducks from the monster..." Azula kept on explaining but Zuko focused on his younger sibling instead. How could such a confident woman become reduced to having a mindset of a toddler, stuck in a mental asylum?

"Zuzu? Zuzu, are you listening? _Zuzu!"_ The Fire Lord snapped out of his reverie.

He apologised to the former Princess. "This is for you, Zuzu! Do you like it?" she asked. Zuko took the picture and looked at it, before placing it carefully in one of his pockets of his robe, right near his heart.

"I love it." The woman smiled and clapped her hands happily before childishly demanding that he tell her a story. The older sibling allowed her to drag him to her bed where she snuggled up amongst the pillows and blankets, and the numerous soft toys. Zuko sat down next to her and started to tell her a story.

"Once upon a time, there was a man named Haku who was in love with a beautiful princess Aki. But the King didn't like Haku..." Zuko continued telling the story, adding in sound effects and changing his voice to suit the characters. Azula listened with her eyes wide open, completely absorbed in the fable. She gleefully clapped and laughed throughout the story, and huddled up with her soft toys, blankets and cushions, when Zuko started telling a scary part of the story.

After the better part of an hour, the story ended, and Azula let out a yawn. Zuko chuckled.

"You're sleepy."

Azula defiantly shook her head. "No, I'm still awa-" she was interrupted once more by a large yawn coming from her mouth. She pouted and crept back under her covers. Zuko planted a kiss on her forehead. Azula confessed to him, "I don't want you to go now already."

"I'll come back next week. I promise."

* * *

A picture went up on the wall, amongst the few photos of his family. His gaze went to another picture drawn by his sister. Turtle ducks were in a meadow filled with flowers, with him and Azula surrounded by them. His mind went back to what his sister had told him just before he left.

_"I'll come back next week. I promise."_

_Azula's face let out a small smile at that. "Zuzu, do you know why I gave you that picture?" she asked. Zuko shook his head and stroked her hair. __Azula's eyes drooped, and her voice reduced to a whisper._

Zuko let a tear escape.

"..._Because you're the best big brother ever! And I'll always love you."_

* * *

_**Hope you enjoyed it. If you can, leave a review, 'kay :)**_


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